On the improv/sketch front, I’m still performing with the Harold team The Cartel at iO West on Tuesday nights at 9:30. We recently added two new members: Justin Uretz and Muretta Moss, who have been awesome to work with. Starting this week, we will be sharing the hour with Triggerfinger. We’re pretty stoked to share a slot with such a dynamic team.

Next month marks the year anniversary of being on the iO West mainstage sketch team Taste Test. The team has grown quite a bit during that time, adding a few new members and a new director, Megan Grano. For our next show on Oct. 13 at 9pm, we have an interesting, high-concept show in the works that you won’t want to miss.

Finally — and probably the most exciting news — I’m preparing for the New York Television Festival in a few weeks. My pilot script –EVIL BLOND KID — was chosen as a finalist in Fox’s Comedy Pilot Script Contest. I’ll be an “official artist” at the fest and I’ll have an opportunity to meet with various industry folks. Also, the winner gets a development deal with Fox and $25,000. But if I could just get a manager to represent me out of this, that’d be a huge step. And for the fans of my storytelling podcast upon which my pilot is based — yes, I’m working on a new episode. I’ll try to release it within the next few weeks.

Here’s the tenth episode of my Evil Blond Kid storytelling podcast. I’ve reached that point in my mid-20s where most of my friends are in serious relationships. And I’m not. Besides a select few who have taken steps to maintain our friendships, most have gotten lazy about hanging out, or have become unbearable to be around… often leaving me single, friendless, and frustrated. But while I currently hate all my couple friends, I can’t exactly blame them for not wanting to return to the hunt. It’s a confusing, impossible process, and I’ve never been very good at it. This episode tells the story of a time I was so desperate for a girlfriend that I stole someone else’s. Subscribe on iTunes and like EBK on Facebook!

Exciting news! Last spring, I wrote an animated pilot script called EVIL BLOND KID that is loosely inspired from my storytelling podcast. That script has been selected as a finalist for the Fox Comedy Script Contest in the New York Television Festival. The people at Fox development will choose a winner from the finalists, who will receive a cash prize and a development deal with Fox. Additionally, as a finalist, I’ll be attending the festival in October (when the winner will be announced), where I’ll have access to various industry and network people.

Thank you to everyone who listens to this podcast — sure, I’d probably be churning out this stuff even if no one listened, but the fact that anyone does means so much.

I was planning on recording a staged reading of the pilot script and releasing it as a special episode, but I think I’ll wait until later in the fall, when the contest is over and the legal stuff is out of the way. Or, by some miracle, maybe you’ll see the pilot on TV one day! (Probably not.)

For now I think it’s safe to post the logline, for anyone interested:

EVIL BLOND KID: After escaping an assassination attempt by a stranger from the future, a straight-laced student with blond hair discovers that he is destined to become an evil warlord. With the help of a robot sent to protect him, he must confront his past demons, prevent a dystopian future, and answer the question: does golden hair mask a heart of evil?

Here’s the ninth episode of my Evil Blond Kid storytelling podcast. As the tagline for The Social Network put it: “You don’t get 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” Throughout my writing career I’ve surprised myself with how candid I’ve been over the Internet, and I worry what bridges I might have burned in the process. In this episode, I take a step back to ponder whether using a public podcast to air my moral anxieties over private memories is such a good idea… or whether overshare is the only way forward for a young writer. My story here is one of collegiate politics, revenge scandals, and a lesson of how these days, everything, from a campus newspaper to comments on a Facebook post, is written in ink. Subscribe on iTunes and like EBK on Facebook!

Here’s the eighth episode of my Evil Blond Kid storytelling podcast. With the Supreme Court striking down DOMA and California’s Proposition 8, attitudes toward rights for homosexuals are clearly shifting. One longtime red-blooded American institution that has finally jumped on board is the Boy Scouts — a group I spent my teenage years with, and one that just recently began permitting openly gay scouts (though not gay adult leaders). This month’s episode tells a story about how easy it is for a young man to lose his humanity in the wilderness… and the destructive power of a single word. Subscribe on iTunes and like EBK on Facebook!

In this second of a two-part season wrap-up of the SNL‘s Season 38 on Splitsider, I look at each cast member’s contributions to the show, some memorable roles that they’ve played, and their overall “share” of screen time.

In this first of a two-part season wrap up of SNL Season 38 on Splitsider, I list my favorite moments of the season, including my picks for best host, best episode, best new cast member, and top sketches.